Blackhawk mistakenly detained while jogging

What began as a leisurely afternoon jog for Blackhawks player Tuomo Ruutu quickly escalated with his mistaken detention Tuesday before ending with Ruutu obliging an officer's request for an autograph.

In what officials called an "unfortunate coincidence," Bensenville police briefly detained Ruutu, 24, because he matched the description of a suspect who reportedly robbed a nearby apartment complex at gunpoint earlier in the day, said Village Manager James Johnson.

Authorities say a man wielding a handgun entered the office of the Brentwood Apartments in Bensenville around 11:50 a.m. and demanded cash from the manager, who did not have any money, Johnson said. After finding the office safe contained no money either, witnesses said the man fled the building on foot wearing a black hat, black jacket and black pants, Johnson said.

As police searched for the suspect, who remains at large, Ruutu went for a run after the Blackhawks' practice at the Edge ice arena, less than a mile from the apartment complex. Ruutu, a 6-foot, 200-pound forward, was stopped by police while wearing his black team sweat suit and a black knit hat, Johnson said.

"He met the initial description," Johnson said. "This was just an unfortunate coincidence."

For his part, Ruutu, a native of Finland who was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2001, said he understood why police detained him and described his brief stint in the back of a squad car as "a fun incident."

"I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time," Ruutu said Wednesday. "It happens to me all the time."

The incident came more than a year after Ruutu, who has been beset by injuries, signed a two-year contract with the team worth nearly $4 million.

While he was detained by police Tuesday, Ruutu said he explained that he played for the Blackhawks and had just gone for a five-minute jog after practice. Minutes later, he was released after a witness arrived and told police that Ruutu was not the suspect.

After Ruutu told authorities his name, a police officer asked for his autograph.